Shelf to twin-post support assembling structure for sectional rack

ABSTRACT

In a shelf to twin-post support assembling structure for sectional rack, the sectional rack includes at least two side support frames and at least two shelves, the shelves are provided at four corners with fastening connectors for engaging with front and rear twin-post supports of the side support frames, and the shelf to twin-post support assembling structure includes transverse metal bars connected to lower front and lower rear end of every shelf as well as a movable bracket rotatably connected to each of two lateral ends of the transverse metal bars. The movable brackets have upper ends connected to the transverse metal bars of the shelves and lower ends to the twin-post supports of the side support frames to provide a sideward support effect between the shelves and the side support frames, so that the sectional rack has increased structural strength without wobbling under a sideward external force applied thereto.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a shelf to twin-post support assemblingstructure for sectional rack, which mainly includes four additionalmovable brackets provided at four corners of every shelf of a sectionalrack, and the movable brackets are connected at upper and lower ends tobetween the shelves and twin-post supports of the sectional rack toprovide sideward supporting strength, enabling the assembled sectionalrack to withstand increased sideward external force without wobbling.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Various types of organization products are provided in homes, offices orother working places for holding or positioning different articles anditems. Such organization products can be generally divided into a fixedtype that could not be easily disassembled and a sectional type that canbe easily disassembled and assembled again. The sectional organizationproducts have the advantages of easy to store and transport to therebyenable reduced storing and transporting costs and accordingly upgradedmarket competing ability.

The sectional organization products can be further divided into twotypes, one of which requires tools to assemble and disassemble it whilethe other type can be assembled and disassembled without the need ofusing any tool. Among the same type of sectional organization products,the products that can be assembled using fewer tools would be acceptedby more consumers. FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional sectional rack 1that has been marketed for many years. The sectional rack 1 has a leftand a right side support frame 10, and a plurality of shelves 11assembled to and between the two side support frames 10. Each of theside support frames 10 includes a front twin-post support having twojuxtaposed front posts 101 and a rear twin-post support having twojuxtaposed rear posts 102, and at least two vertically spaced horizontalmetal braces 103. The horizontal metal braces 103 are welded at frontand rear ends to the front posts 101 and the rear posts 102,respectively.

Every shelf 11 is fixedly provided at four corners with a fasteningconnector 111 each. The fastening connectors 111 each are an axiallyextended U-shaped bracket to define a U-shaped receiving space therein.The U-shaped receiving spaces of the fastening connectors 111 located attwo front corners of the shelves 11 are forward opened, while theU-shaped receiving spaces of the fastening connectors 111 located at tworear corners of the shelves 11 are rearward opened. When measuring atthe same lateral side of the shelf 11, a distance between an inner endof the forward opened receiving space of the front fastening connector111 and an inner end of the rearward opened receiving space of the rearfastening connector 111 is slightly smaller than a distance between thefront posts 101 of the front twin-post support and the rear posts 102 ofthe rear twin-post support of the side support frame 10. The receivingspaces of the fastening connectors 111 at four corners of the shelves 11can be engaged with corresponding front and rear posts 101, 102 of theside support frames 10, so that the shelves 11 outward push against thefront posts 101 and the rear posts 102 of the side support frames 10 andare fixedly assembled to between the two side support frames 10. Theabove-structured sectional rack 1 has relatively low structural strengthand tends to wobble sidewardly. To overcome this problem, two crossedtension braces 12 are further erected between the rear posts 102 of thetwo side support frames 10 to give the assembled sectional rack 1 anincreased structural strength. Since the crossed tension braces 12 arenot suitable for mounting to between the front posts 101 of the sidesupport frames 10, the sectional rack 1 does not have balanced front andrear structural strength. Thus, the whole sectional rack 1 still haspoor structural strength and tends to wobble sidewardly when an externalforce is applied thereto. In brief, the structure for assembling theshelves 11 to the side support frames 10 of the conventional sectionalrack 1 is not suitable for forming a sectional rack with increasedheight and width.

It is therefore tried by the inventor to overcome the problems in theconventional sectional rack having twin-post supports by developing ashelf to twin-post support assembling structure for sectional rack, sothat the sectional rack with the assembling structure of the presentinvention in a fully assembled state can have increased structuralstrength without wobbling under sideward external force applied thereto.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a shelf totwin-post support assembling structure for sectional rack, so thatshelves and twin-post supports of the sectional rack are firmlyconnected to one another to give the whole assembled sectional rack anincreased structural strength.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a shelf totwin-post support assembling structure for sectional rack, so thatcrossed metal tension braces required in the conventional sectional rackcan be now omitted from the back of the sectional rack with the shelf totwin-post support assembling structure according to the presentinvention, enabling the sectional rack to have a neat and aestheticappearance.

The sectional rack includes at least two side support frames and atleast two shelves. The side support frames respectively includes a fronttwin-post support having two juxtaposed front posts and a rear twin-postsupport having two juxtaposed rear posts. The shelves are provided atfour corners with a fastening connector each for engaging with the frontand rear twin-post supports of the side support frames.

To achieve the above and other objects, the shelf to twin-post supportassembling structure for sectional rack according to the presentinvention includes a front and a rear transverse metal bar respectivelyconnected to lower front and lower rear end of every shelf, and amovable bracket rotatably connected to each of two lateral ends of thefront and rear transverse metal bars. Each of the movable brackets hasan upper end connected to the transverse metal bar of the shelf and alower end connected to the twin-post support of the side support frame.While the fastening connectors allow a user to primarily assemble theshelves to the two side support frames, the use of the movable bracketsfurther increases the connection strength between the shelves and theside support frames, enabling the fully assembled sectional rack to haveincreased structural strength without wobbling under a sideward externalforce applied thereto.

The fastening connectors provided at four corners of the shelves eachare an axially extended U-shaped bracket to define a U-shaped receivingspace therein. When the U-shaped receiving spaces of the fasteningconnectors are engaged with the front posts and rear posts of the sidesupport frames on two lateral sides of the shelves by force fitting, theshelves function to outward push against the front posts and the rearposts of the twin-post front and rear supports of the two side supportframes, so that the shelves are primarily assembled to the two sidesupport frames.

In the shelf to twin-post support assembling structure for sectionalrack according to the present invention, each of the movable bracketshas an upper end rotatably fitted around one corresponding front or reartransverse metal bar, and a lower end formed into a U-shaped section todefine a U-shaped engaging space therein. With the U-shaped engagingspaces at the lower ends of the movable brackets being correspondinglytightly engaged with the front and the rear posts of the side supportframes, the movable brackets provide additional sideward supportingstrength between the shelves and the side support frames to increase theoverall structural strength of the fully assembled sectional rack.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The structure and the technical means adopted by the present inventionto achieve the above and other objects can be best understood byreferring to the following detailed description of the preferredembodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein

FIG. 1 is an assembled perspective view of a conventional sectionalrack;

FIG. 2 is an assembled perspective view of an embodiment of a sectionalrack with the shelf to twin-post support assembling structure accordingto the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of a shelf for the sectional rack ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary bottom perspective view showing the shelf ofFIG. 3 is first assembled to two twin-post supports of the sectionalrack of FIG. 2 via fastening connectors;

FIG. 6 is another fragmentary bottom perspective view showing the shelfof FIG. 5 is further securely assembled to the twin-post supports of thesectional rack via movable brackets; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the sectional rackwith the shelf to twin-post support assembling structure according tothe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will now be described with some preferredembodiments thereof. For the purpose of easy to understand, elementsthat are the same in the preferred embodiments are denoted by the samereference numerals.

Please refer to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. A shelf to twin-post supportassembling structure for sectional rack according to the presentinvention enables the assembling of a shelf 30 at four corners to twoside support frames 20 to thereby form a sectional rack 2 for use. Afully assembled sectional rack 2 includes at least two side supportframes 20, and at least two shelves 30. A first embodiment of thesectional rack 2 illustrated in FIG. 2 is assembled from two sidesupport frames 20 and three shelves 30.

Each of the side support frames 20 includes a front twin-post supporthaving two juxtaposed front posts 21, a rear twin-post support havingtwo juxtaposed rear posts 22, and at least two (three are shown in thedrawings) vertically spaced horizontal braces 23 arranged from top tobottom. Each of the horizontal braces 23 has a front and a rear endwelded to the front posts 21 and the rear posts 22, respectively. Morespecifically, the front ends of the horizontal braces 23 are fixedlywelded to between the two juxtaposed front posts 21, and the rear endsof the horizontal braces 23 are fixedly welded to between the twojuxtaposed rear posts 22.

Each of the shelves 30 is provided at a lower front and a lower rear endwith a front and a rear transverse metal bar 33 and 34, respectively.The shelves 30 in the illustrated embodiment are metal shelves made of aplurality of metal bars. Every shelf 30 is fixedly provided at fourcorners with a fastening connector 31 each. The fastening connectors 31are respectively an axially extended U-shaped bracket to define aU-shaped receiving space 32 therein. The U-shaped receiving spaces 32 ofthe fastening connectors 31 located at two front corners of the shelf 30are forward opened, while the U-shaped receiving spaces 32 of thefastening connectors 31 located at two rear corners of the shelf 30 arerearward opened. When measuring at the same lateral side of the shelf30, a distance between an inner end of the forward opened receivingspace 32 of the front fastening connector 31 and an inner end of therearward opened receiving space 32 of the rear fastening connector 31 isslightly smaller than a distance between the front posts 21 of the fronttwin-post support and the rear posts 22 of the rear twin-post support ofthe side support frame 20. When the fastening connectors 31 located atfront corners and rear corners of the shelves 30 are engaged at theirU-shaped receiving spaces 32 with front posts 21 and rear posts 22,respectively, of the side support frames 20 on two lateral sides of theshelves 30 by force fitting, the shelves 30 function to outward pushagainst the front posts 21 and the rear posts 22 of the twin-post frontand rear supports of the two side support frames 20, so that the shelves30 are primarily assembled to the two side support frames 20, as shownin FIG. 5. The sectional rack 2 so assembled through engagement of thefastening connectors 31 of the shelves 30 with the front and rear posts21, 22 of the side support frames 20 now has a structural strengthgenerally similar to that of the conventional sectional rack 1illustrated in FIG. 1. The horizontal braces 23 of the side supportframes 20 not only connect the front posts 21 to the rear posts 22, butalso produce an effect of locating the shelves 30 in place.

A movable bracket 40 is rotatably connected to each of two lateral endsof the front and rear transverse metal bars 33, 34 arranged at the lowerfront and lower rear end of every shelf 30. The movable bracket 40 hasan upper end 41 rotatably fitted around one corresponding front or reartransverse metal bar 33, 34, and a lower end formed into a U-shapedsection 42 to define a U-shaped engaging space 43 therein. The U-shapedengaging spaces 43 of the movable brackets 40 provided on the fronttransverse metal bars 33 of the shelves 30 are forward opened, while theU-shaped engaging spaces 43 of the movable brackets 40 provided on therear transverse metal bars 34 of the shelves 30 are rearward opened.

When the fastening connectors 31 at four corners of the shelves 30 havebeen connected to the left and right side support frames 20 with thereceiving spaces 32 of the fastening connectors 31 engaged withcorresponding front and rear posts 21, 22, the movable brackets 40connected to the front transverse metal bars 33 of the shelves 30 can besequentially turned forward about the front transverse metal bars 33, sothat the U-shaped engaging spaces 43 at the lower ends of the movablebrackets 40 are correspondingly tightly engaged with the front posts 21of the side support frames 20; and then, the movable brackets 40connected to the rear transverse metal bars 34 of the shelves 30 aresequentially turned rearward about the rear transverse metal bars 34, sothat the U-shaped engaging spaces 43 at the lower ends of the movablebrackets 40 are correspondingly tightly engaged with the rear posts 22of the side support frames 20, as shown in FIG. 6. At this point, theupper ends 41 and the U-shaped sections 42 at the lower ends of movablebrackets 40 are pressed against the shelves 30 and the twin-postsupports of the side support frames 20, respectively, to provideadditional sideward supporting strength to the sectional rack 2.Therefore, the assembled sectional rack 2 would not easily wobblesidewardly even when the sectional rack 2 is subjected to a sidewardexternal force. That is, the whole sectional rack 2 with the shelf totwin-post support assembling structure according to the presentinvention in a fully assembled state has largely increased overallstructural strength.

The movable brackets 40 are rotatably connected at respective upper ends41 to the front and the rear transverse metal bars 33, 34, and cantherefore be pivotally turned about the corresponding front and reartransverse metal bars 33, 34. When the U-shaped engaging spaces 43 ofthe movable brackets 40 are engaged with corresponding front and rearposts 21, 22, the upper ends 41 of the movable brackets 40 arerespectively pressed at a lateral outer end against a stopper 35. Thatis, the movable brackets 40 located closer to a left side of the shelves30 are pressed at their respective upper left end against a stopper 35,and the movable brackets 40 located closer to a right side of theshelves 30 are pressed at their respective upper right end againstanother stopper 35. With these arrangements, the movable brackets 40 aresecurely connected to and between the front and rear posts 21, 22 andthe shelves 30 to pull the front and rear posts 21, 22 toward theshelves 30, ensuring a stronger and more stable connection between theshelves 30 and the side support frames 20. In practical implementationof the present invention, the stoppers 35 can be respectively fixedlycoupled with one corresponding fastening connector 31 to form anintegral unit, and the fastening connectors 31 are connected to theshelves 30 to form an integral unit by welding the stoppers 35 to theshelves 30.

The first embodiment of the sectional rack 2 shown in FIG. 2 isassembled from two side support frames 20 and three shelves 30. In asecond embodiment of the sectional rack, additional side support frames20 and shelves 30 can be further assembled to the sectional rack 2 inFIG. 2 to obtain a transversely extended sectional rack 3 as shown inFIG. 7.

The shelf to twin-post support assembling structure for sectional rackaccording to the present invention is characterized in the movablebrackets 40 added to the shelves 30. With the movable brackets 40, anadditional sideward supporting structure between the shelves 30 and theside support frames 20 is created, allowing the fully assembledsectional rack to withstand increased sideward external force appliedthereto without wobbling. Thus, the object of providing the sectionalrack with increased structural strength is successfully achieved.

The present invention has been described with some preferred embodimentsthereof and it is understood that many changes and modifications in thedescribed embodiments can be carried out without departing from thescope and the spirit of the invention that is intended to be limitedonly by the appended claims.

1. A shelf to twin-post support assembling structure for sectional rack;the sectional rack including at least two side support frames and atleast two shelves; each of the side support frames including a fronttwin-post support having two juxtaposed front posts, a rear twin-postsupport having two juxtaposed rear posts, and at least two verticallyspaced horizontal braces, the horizontal braces each having a front anda rear end welded to the front posts and the rear posts, respectively,to form an integral side support frame; each of the shelves beingfixedly provided at four corners with a fastening connector each, thefastening connectors respectively defining a receiving space therein,the receiving spaces of the fastening connectors at four corners of theshelves being adapted to engage with front posts and rear postscorresponding thereto to thereby produce an effect of pushing the frontand rear posts of the same side support frame forward and rearward,respectively; the shelf to twin-post support assembling structurecomprising: a front and a rear transverse metal bar connected to a lowerfront and a lower rear end of every shelf, respectively; and a movablebracket rotatably connected to each of two lateral ends of the front andrear transverse metal bars; each of the movable brackets having an upperend rotatably fitted around one corresponding front or rear transversemetal bar to allow the movable bracket to pivotally turn about the frontor rear transverse metal bar, and a lower end formed into a U-shapedsection to define a U-shaped engaging space therein; the U-shapedengaging spaces of the movable brackets connected to the fronttransverse metal bars of the shelves being forward opened, while theU-shaped engaging spaces of the movable brackets connected to the reartransverse metal bars of the shelves being rearward opened; the movablebrackets connected to two lateral ends of the front transverse metalbars of the shelves being forwardly turnable about the front transversemetal bars for the U-shaped engaging spaces at the lower ends of themovable brackets to correspondingly engage with the front posts of theside support frames by force fitting; and the movable brackets connectedto two lateral ends of the rear transverse metal bars of the shelvesbeing rearwardly turnable about the rear transverse metal bars for theU-shaped engaging spaces at the lower ends of the movable brackets tocorrespondingly engage with the rear posts of the side support frames byforce fitting; whereby, with the upper and lower ends of the movablebrackets being securely connected to the shelves and the twin-postsupports of the side support frames, respectively, an additionalsideward supporting strength is provided to the sectional rack.
 2. Theshelf to twin-post support assembling structure for sectional rack asclaimed in claim 1, wherein when the U-shaped engaging spaces of themovable brackets are engaged with corresponding front and rear posts,the movable brackets located closer to a left side of the shelves arepressed at their respective upper left end against a stopper, and themovable brackets located closer to a right side of the shelves arepressed at their respective upper right end against another stopper. 3.The shelf to twin-post support assembling structure for sectional rackas claimed in claim 2, wherein the stoppers are respectively fixedlycoupled with one of the fastening connectors to form an integral unit,and the stoppers are respectively welded to the shelves to form anintegral part of the shelves.
 4. The shelf to twin-post supportassembling structure for sectional rack as claimed in claim 1, wherein,when measuring at the same lateral side of the shelf, a distance betweenan inner end of the forward opened receiving space of the frontfastening connector and an inner end of the rearward opened receivingspace of the rear fastening connector is slightly smaller than adistance between the front posts of the front twin-post support and therear posts of the rear twin-post support of the side support frame. 5.The shelf to twin-post support assembling structure for sectional rackas claimed in claim 1, wherein the shelves are metal shelves made of aplurality of metal bars.